Tennessee Women Defeat Georgia in Athens for the First Time

GEORGIA vs. TENNESSEE

  • Jan. 25, 2020
  • Hosted by Georgia
  • Short Course Yards
  • Full Results

TEAM SCORES

WOMEN

  1. Tennessee 199
  2. Georgia 101

MEN

  1. Georgia 176.5
  2. Tennessee 122.5

SEC Swimming fans saw some excitement in Athens on Saturday as rivals Georgia and Tennessee met for a dual meet. On the women’s side, Tennessee defeated Georgia in the Gabrielsen Natatorium for the first time. The Georgia men handed Tennessee their first loss of the season.

SEC Champion Erika Brown picked up 3 individual wins for the Volunteers. She finished 2 seconds ahead of the field in the 200 free, leading in 1:45.18. Brown later won handily in both of her remaining events, clocking a 48.86 in the 100 free and a 52.22 in the 100 fly.

Another SEC Champ, Meghan Small, turned in a pair of victories for Tennessee. In the 200 IM, Small took a slight lead on the front half, but Georgia freshman Zoie Hartman took over the lead on the breast leg. Small then came from behind to win it, outsplitting Hartman by nearly a second on the closing split for a 1:58.42 to 1:59.19 victory. Small had also won the 100 back earlier in 54.10.

Teammate Amanda Nunan also put together a winning double. Nunan swept the distance freestyles, posting a 4:45.06 in the 500 and a 9:39.55 in the 1000. The Volunteer women remain undefeated.

Georgia SEC Champion Camden Murphy swept the butterflies to help the UGA men to victory. First up was the 200 fly, where he pulled away on the back half to beat teammate Harry Homans 1:45.97 to 1:46.46. Murphy was over half a second ahead of the field in the 100 fly, winning in 47.16.

Teammate Greg Reed (4:22.48/9:00.63) swept the distance freestyles for the Bulldogs, leading a 1-2 finish with Andrew Abruzzo (4:23.27/9:05.77) both times. Abruzzo closed out his schedule with a win, posting a 1:47.49 in the 200 IM.

PRESS RELEASE – TENNESSEE

ATHENS, Ga. – The 4th-ranked Lady Vol swimming and diving team remained unbeaten Saturday as they defeated Georgia’s 9th-ranked women’s team at UGA’s Gabrielsen Natatorium. On the men’s side, the 12th-ranked Vols fell to No. 8 Georgia.

The Lady Vols defeated the Lady Bulldogs 199-101, notching their fourth ever win at Georgia and the first since 1989. The men fell to UGA 176.5-122.5.

Senior Erika Brown continued to show out Saturday as she picked up three wins for the Lady Vols. The Charlotte, N.C., native won the 200 free with a time of 1:45.18, two seconds ahead of UGA’s Courtney Harnish. Brown won the 100 free, clocking a 48.86 and the 100 fly at 52.22.

In the 100 fly, the Lady Vols finished one through four with Trude Rothrock (53.14) placing second, Mallory Beil (53.86) coming in third and McKenna Morello (54.05) rounding out the group in fourth.

Fellow senior Meghan Small took home two wins over Georgia with victories in the 200 IM and 100 back. Small posted a 1:58.42 in the 200 IM, racing back from behind to out-touch Zoie Hartman from Georgia. The Lineboro, Md., native swam a 54.10 in the 100 back, finishing ahead of teammate Danika Katzer (55.06).

Amanda Nunan posted a career-best performance in the 1,000 yard swim with a time of 9:39.55. The time moves her to third all-time in Lady Vol history in the event. The junior also won the 500 at 4:45.06.

“This weekend was huge for us,” associate head coach Ashley Jahn said. “Georgia is extremely competitive and it brought out the best in us. We had seven different event winners and several 1-2-3 finishes today as well as winning both the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay. We took 14 of 16 events and got an even better feel for the pool. We’ll be back here in March for NCAAs and this will be valuable experience for us to fall back on.”

On the men’s side, the Vols won five events against the Bulldogs.

The day started with the Vols’ quartet of Matthew GarciaMichael HoulieBraga Verhage and Seth Thompson-Bailey winning the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:27.76. Garcia kept rolling as he picked up an individual win in the 100 back, turning in a 47.98.

Houlie earned a win for UT in the next event, the 100 breast, with a time of 54.10. Teammate Jarel Dillard placed second at 55.15.

The sophomore Dillard also finished second in the 200 breast, touching the wall in 2:00.16.

“Dillard competed exceptionally well today,” associate head coach Lance Asti said. “He is coming off two solid weeks of training and took some encouraging steps forward.”

In the 50 free, Verhage hit the wall at 20.25, tying with UGA’s Dillon Downing for first place in the event. Senior Alec Connolly won the 100 free with a time of 43.87 while placing third in the 200 free (1:37.73) and 200 IM (1:48.66).

“Georgia is a great challenge,” Asti said. “We had some guys step up and swim well but we need to get back to work, sharpen up and prepare for Florida next week.”

In diving, Grace Cable made her return to the 3-meter springboard with a victory, scoring 314.18 points. The sophomore made it a clean sweep with another win on the 1-meter board, posting 279.23 points. Junior Ana Hernandez finished second on the 1-meter board, securing a dive score of 271.65.

For the men, junior Keegan Richardson finished second on both boards, scoring 287.55 on 1-meter and 319.88 on three. Freshman Nick McCann had a solid day as well, placing third on 1-meter with a score of 253.65. He finished fourth on the 3-meter springboard with a total score of 235.20.

“There were numerous highlights today from both the men and women,” head diving coach Dave Parrington said. “Grace made an excellent return to dual meet competition after being out of action on 3-meter for quite some time. With two wins against a strong Georgia diving squad, it made today even more special. Ana was strong especially on 1-meter and Emily Ann was very competitive too on the 1-meter board. I was please to see Keegan’s scrappiness to pull out a pair of second place finishes and also Nick who bagged an important third at a point in the meet when we really needed it.”

UP NEXT

Tennessee returns to the friendly confines of the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on Saturday, Feb. 1 for senior day. The senior day festivities being at 9:30 a.m. and will lead into UT’s final dual meet of the season against No. 8/9 Florida.

PRESS RELEASE – GEORGIA

ATHENS, Ga. — The eighth-ranked University of Georgia men’s swimming and diving team took down the undefeated No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers, 176.5-122.5, on Saturday in the Gabrielsen Natatorium, while the No.12 Lady Bulldogs fell to the fourth-ranked Lady Vols (7-0).

The Bulldogs’ win over the Vols boosts their season record to 5-1, while the Lady Dogs’ 199-101 loss drops their record to 4-2 on the season.

Junior Danielle Della Torre gave the Lady Bulldogs a boost and their first win of the day, finishing the 100-yard breast in 1:00.04.  Sophomore Callie Dickinson followed suit, earning a season-best 1:56.37 finish in the 200-yard butterfly. This was also Dickinson’s first win of season in the event.

“The ladies were a bit more tired than I thought,” said Tom Cousins Head Coach Jack Bauerle. “Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country, and Tennessee’s women are as good as I’ve seen since 2013. Danielle De Torre did a heck of a job today…and Zoie (Hartman) is going to be a force at the NCAAs for sure. On the men’s side— I’m really proud…Ian Grum is going to be a force. He sort of saved us a lot today…Camden (Murphy) is just so tough. I’ll tell you who was great today— Walker Higgins. His 200 free was maybe the best swim we had today…Overall, I like the character of the group, and they did a great job.”

The Bulldogs kickstarted the meet with four wins before the intermission, including 1-2-3 sweeps in two events. In the 1,000-yard freestyle, junior Greg Reed finished first with a season-best of 9:00.63. Sophomore Andrew Abruzzo (9:05.77) and senior Kevin Miller (9:11.32) rounded out the top-three in the 1,000-yard free.

The Georgia men dominated the 200-yard fly to sweep their second event of the day. Finishing first for the Bulldogs was junior Camden Murphy (1:45.97), with freshman Harry Homans (1:46.46) and senior Clayton Forde (1:47.59) finishing in second and third place, respectively.

Against his hometown team, Knoxville native Walker Higgins boasted a season-best (1:35.38) in the 200-yard freestyle to finish first overall. Higgins’ win allowed the Bulldogs to grab their first double-figure lead of the meet.

Prior to the intermission, freshman Bulldog Dillon Downing matched times (20.25) with the Vols’ Braga Verhage for first place in the 50-yard freestyle.

At the first break, the Georgia men led the Vols, 67.5-63.5, while the Lady Bulldogs trailed, 77-54.

The Bulldogs kept rolling to start the second round of competition. Georgia natives Ian Grum and Jack Dalmolin grabbed the Bulldogs’ first two wins out of the break. Freshman Grum (44.70) took the 200-yard backstroke before Dalmolin, a junior, recorded a win in the 200 breast (1:59.09).

Hartman and Della Torre finished strong for the Lady Bulldogs with top finishes in their remaining events. In the 200 breast, freshman Hartman (2:11.12) came in second place with Della Torre (2:11.39) following in third. Hartman capped the day for the women with a second-place finish in the 200 IM (1:59.19).

With scores by Reed (4:22.48), Abruzzo (4:23.27) and Higgins (4:26.27) in the 500 free, the Bulldogs sealed their third top-three finish of the day. Murphy (47.16) then recorded an additional win for Georgia in the 100 fly, taking the Dogs into the second break with a 134.5-110.5 advantage over Tennessee.

Georgia rounded out the final events of the day with top finishes in the men’s 200 IM as Abruzzo and Forde finished first and second, respectively. The Bulldogs then took the top two spots in the 400 free relay to seal the SEC victory.

In diving, junior Zach Allen went 2-for-2 with wins in the 1-meter and 3-meter. In the 3-meter, Allen’s 349.88 score marked his third win of the season in the event.

Up next, Georgia will welcome Emory in Athens on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. in the Gabrielsen Natatorium. The meet will be broadcast on SEC Network +.

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Notaswimmer
4 years ago

Thank you Braden for the background work. The Tennessee teams both had hard post November invite/Christmas break practices and unlike so many other teams, DO NOT take a training trip away during that time period. Note that a few swam the TYR Pro Series in Knoxville the previous weekend as well. They were NOT rested.

REALISTIC
4 years ago

If you really look back at Tennessee WOMEN and their times this season, you’d notice the drastic time drops suddenly at TEN vs UGA. Regardless of the score or the few Tennessee ladies suites, it is beyond evident they were rested and UGA visibly swam tired. The false narrative that this ONE meet puts Tennessee ‘a shoe in’ to an SEC title/top 2 or UGA women out of a top 2/3 contender in a couple weeks is setting people up for disappointment.

Admin
Reply to  REALISTIC
4 years ago

I was curious about this claim, so I did some checking:

This is Tennessee’s first swim meet since their invite in November (the diving team has competed a few times since). So that makes any ‘trending’ really hard to do – it’s way easier if you can look at last week’s meet and say “oh they were faster this week,” because that reduces the number of potential variables involved. Besides that, and just combing through results:

-Erika Brown, Bailey Grinter, and Stanzi Moselely were all faster in the 100 free against Virginia than against Georgia
-Erika Brown, Trude Rothrock, and Abby Samansky were all faster in the 200 free against Georgia than in the sprint pre-invite semester (although Rothrock… Read more »

Swimfan
Reply to  REALISTIC
4 years ago

Please look at Abby Samansky’s 500 and TELL ME that was a rested swim (she added 20 seconds)

The Thief
4 years ago

The Tennessee girls were suited so today may not have been a true indication of where both teams are at during dual meet season.

Moreresults
Reply to  The Thief
4 years ago

This was one of their slowest dual meets of the year. and social media for both teams tells a different story?

John
Reply to  The Thief
4 years ago

They weren’t suited? It aired on ESPN…

BigCarotTop
Reply to  John
4 years ago

well, that new cable entity in Athens, Pot Licker Media, doesnt have ESPN yet

The Thief
Reply to  John
4 years ago

Not saying their studs were suited but having some mid-tier swimmers from the Tennessee team being suited definitely helped sway the points in their favor ever-so-slightly. Not saying this is the sole reason the UGA women lost, but may have been a bit closer of a meet

Admin
Reply to  The Thief
4 years ago

Suited or not suited, 98 points is a rout.

Moreresults
Reply to  The Thief
4 years ago

They won 14 of the 16 events. Not sure it was a meet anyways

Barry
4 years ago

@Texas A&M Swim Fan do you like apples?

Admin
Reply to  Barry
4 years ago

Ok but let’s use the “TBS” version.

Texas A&M Swim Fan
Reply to  Barry
4 years ago

Ummm…..

DravenOP
4 years ago

Lady vols very impressive. Vol men not so much.

Redneckhillbilly
Reply to  DravenOP
4 years ago

Why diss on the ManVols? They did a great job being undefeated in dual meets until at UGA. Everybody knows at Senior Day teams shave swimmers who won’t make SECs. That gave UGA an edge against the mighty Vols for sure if they did shave and rest. If UT can rebound against Florida next week and upset the defending SEC Champions, then UT will have momentum heading into SECs. The Men’s SEC is super weak this year and the Vols have been know to rally big time at the big meets. Look for the ManVols to surprise the world at SECs and win it all. You heard it here first.

Jeez Louise
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

Not senior day for UGA but nice try

Provenresults
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

^REDNECKHILLBILLY with the biggest troll posting response of all troll postings. You heard it here first

Redneckhillbilly
Reply to  Provenresults
4 years ago

Heard it here? Cant hear nothing here Here, here!! We both wrote it here first. Can ya hear me now?

DravenOP
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

Because they swam slow. Not hating on their prospects long term but they were not good in this duel meet for whatever reason.

Superfan
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

It wasn’t senior day!

observer
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

Tennessee had some of their men suited up. None of UGA’s men were suited.

VFL
Reply to  observer
4 years ago

No one at this meet was suited. It was on ESPN. Hannah Holman was the only female I remember in a suit to the knees but it didn’t look like a tech suit. Maybe one rando
boy in a jammer, but anyone scoring on either team was in a regular suit.

Texas A&M Swim Fan
Reply to  Redneckhillbilly
4 years ago

Ummm… me thinks not but you can continue to wish, hope, & pray (but probably not in that order)👍

BD SWIM MOM
Reply to  Texas A&M Swim Fan
4 years ago

Ok but y’all lost to Duke. #gobluedevils

SWIMFANPOP
4 years ago

It is clearly not the same men’s Georgia team as last year. They are so much better than I & many others thought.

CanSwim13
Reply to  SWIMFANPOP
4 years ago

Would love to have Javier this year but next year will be great

SWIMFANPOP
Reply to  CanSwim13
4 years ago

Oh shoot. I forgot he is RS. Plus Georgia has a pretty great incoming class. I wonder how it will all play out for Georgia.

Superfan
Reply to  SWIMFANPOP
4 years ago

No relays so hard to score at NCAAs!

Provenresults
4 years ago

Tennessee women continue to impress!

Yup
4 years ago

Vol men got worked…

Superfan
Reply to  Yup
4 years ago

No surprise.

John
Reply to  Superfan
4 years ago

No surprise? They’ve been swimming pretty well this year. One dual meet isn’t the end of the world.

John
Reply to  John
4 years ago

Don’t mess with the Georgia men in Olympic year

Superfan
Reply to  John
4 years ago

How many current Georgia have a legit chance to make USA olympic team?

Armchair
Reply to  John
4 years ago

Vol men had three or four events where they didn’t score in the top 3–that hurts. Solid team but lacks a bit of star power and depth. Tennessee women have both and are very strong.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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